Job evaluation system launched

By

WAM

PublishedSunday, February 09, 2014

The Job Evaluation and Description System (JEDS) in the Federal Government, which was endorsed recently by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is one of the best systems and practices in the world in area of public job evaluation, according to Humaid bin Mohammed Obaid Al Qattami, Minister of Education, and Chairman of Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR).

He said JEDS aims to evaluate all jobs in the Federal Government, using a systematic evaluation approach to ensure justice and harmony across the Federal Government, within the time frame specified by FAHR, and to link evaluation outcomes to the grade and salary scale adopted, in order to determine grades for various jobs in a logical and sound manner.

The minister was speaking during a workshop held mainly to officially launch the JEDS in attendance of Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar, Director General of the FAHR, Aisha Al Suwaidi, Acting Executive Director of HR Policies At FAHR, and a crowd of ministry undersecretaries, and HR managers at federal government.

FAHR is mandated by Cabinet Resolution No. 28 of 2013 to issue the necessary instructions to implement the System, along with its manuals, as well as develop and update plans for the phased implementation of JEDS and modify the forms and manuals attached thereto, whenever necessary to do so.

According to the Resolution published in the latest issue of the Official Gazette, an internal committee for evaluation of jobs will be formed at each Federal Government entity by respective ministers, for the evaluation of existing, newly created or adjusted jobs, whose tasks and mechanism of action will be determined by the new System.

JEDS applies to all existing and new jobs in federal bodies which are subject to the Law, within the plan set by FAHR for this purpose.

The system is primarily intended to assign appropriate job titles to reflect the actual duties, responsibilities and functions. This will ensure standardization of job titles at the level of all federal entities adopting JEDS and the development of a reliable database of descriptions, titles and families for all jobs in government entities. This system is not intended to employees’ placement or replacement after its application.

The System also explains the role of each federal entity in implementing the key activities for the evaluation of jobs. This includes collecting information related to the job, as well as documenting a preliminary list of responsibilities, capabilities and requirements for each job, showing the relative level, importance, complexity, and value of each job and to compare each job to other jobs within the organization, through grouping of jobs with similar characteristics.

The main objection is to determine a reference level for planning federal grades and allocate the appropriate grade for a job and a job family, according to this System. The process must take into account any adjustments to jobs or job families, whether through creation of new jobs or by modification, merger or cancellation of existing jobs, via the HR Management Information System (HRMIS) "BAYANATI", in order to determine the appropriate grades according to the mechanisms of the system, update the database of job description, job title, job family and grades, and demonstrate the actual content and value of jobs.

On the other hand, JEDS determines the select the tasks and functions of authorities entrusted with the implementation. The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources will undertake the development of all mechanisms, policies and procedures of the System, as well as ensure compliance of government agencies, provide advisory support to federal entities during the implementation phase, oversee the training of evaluation committees at federal bodies, ensure the formation of internal evaluation committees and receive the annual statistical reports from all entities about the effectiveness of the system.

The functions and powers of a federal entity’s senior management are to provide support for internal job evaluation committee formed at the federal entity to perform its functions properly, and ensure principles of credibility, fairness and integrity, as well as compliance with job description & classification system, execution of governance processes necessary for budget preparation with respect to existing and new jobs and creation of an interactive environment to ensure effective participation of line managers during the analysis phase and the periods following job evaluation.

The HR departments have the responsibility of implementing the JEDS and the forms attached thereto. Specifically, HR departments have to ensure effective implementation, provide support and assistance to the internal job evaluation committees, in addition to holding workshops and training courses for line managers and employees, in order to educate employees about the JEDS and communicate with the staff to address any difficulties that would hamper proper application of the System.

The new system addresses job families and classification of jobs in the Federal Government, highlighting the importance of job families which enable the federal entities to reduce overlap and potential conflict between jobs when conducting human resources planning, through implementing a ‘holistic approach’ by grouping jobs with similar characteristics.

The System underscores the role of the Federal Committee for Job Evaluation which is tasked with the final approval of allocation of grades, job title and classification within job families, and considering any adjustments relating to creation, merger or division of one of the families or groups, or existing career paths, as well as approve any procedures taken in this regard.

Job classification system must not deviate from the three career paths approved under this system: leadership, administrative and professional / specialist.

The general framework of JEDS provides an integrated methodology for managing jobs in the Federal Government according to the steps involving functional evaluation of existing jobs by the federal entities, and the new jobs that are created to meet the entity’s requirements.